Editor's Note: The Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference is celebrating its 40th anniversary season in 2020-21. Throughout this summer, the conference will be announcing all-anniversary teams for each sport it currently sponsors. In conjunction, the Marist Athletics Department will highlight its achievements from the MAAC era.
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POUGHKEEPSIE, New York – Both the Marist men's and women's swimming and diving teams joined the Metro Atlantic Athletic conference ahead of the 1995-96 season. Over the past 25 years, no other programs have had more success than Marist.
The Red Foxes didn't take long to get accustomed to the competition in the MAAC. At the 1996 MAAC Championships, the first championship event after Marist joined the conference, the men's team cemented its place in conference history by winning the program's first MAAC Championship. Meanwhile, the women finished in second place, falling just short of Loyola 996.5-995.
Flash forward to 2020, and both Marist teams have combined for 30 total MAAC Championships, which leads the conference. The women's team was won the title 18 times, also leading the conference during that span, while the men's team has accumulated 12 titles. Both teams combined have either won the championship, or came up just short in second place, in 43 out of the 50 MAAC championships the teams have participated in.
Kate Conard: After the end of Kate Conard's career, she held MAAC records in the 500-yard free (4:50.97),1,000-yard free (9:57.08), and 1650-yard free (16:40.23), as well as the 800-yard free relay (7:31.19). She holds program records in the same events, as well as the 200-yard free (1:50.12), 200-yard back (2:00.65), and 400-yard IM (4:25.84). She was a three-time MAAC Most Outstanding Female Swimmer, and won 11 MAAC individual championships. Conard was named an Academic All-American in 2013.
Esabelle Gervasio: Despite her just now entering her senior season, Gervasio has been a major presence on the diving boards throughout her three years so far with the team. Her career accolades include three two MAAC Most Outstanding Female Diver awards, and one MAAC Rookie Diver of the Meet award. She has won the 1-meter dive at the MAAC Championships each of the past three years. This year, she was named MAAC Women's Diver of the Week five times, an award she has won now 10 times in her career. She was also named to the MAAC All-Academic Team each of the past two years.
Meredith Wurtz: Wurtz was crowned the MAAC's Most Outstanding Female Swimmer twice throughout her career, in 2016 and 2017. She currently holds the school record in the 50-yard free and 100-yard free, with times of 23.48 and 51.20, respectively. Wurtz owns two MAAC Championships, winning the 50-yard free and 100-yard free in 2017. She was an eight-time MAAC Swimmer of the Week and made the MAAC All-Academic Team three times.
Jamie Falco: Falco was crowned the MAAC's Most Outstadning Female Swimmer following both the 2005 and 2007 seasons. Falco won 10 Individual MAAC Championships throughout her career, and set multiple program records. One of her records still stands today, as she holds the number one spot in the 200-yard IM with a time of 2:04.24.
Meghan Duffy: Duffy is another two-time major award winner, winning two MAAC Most Outstanding Female Diver awards back-to-back in 2005 and 2006. Those were outstanding seasons for the diver, as she was crowned the MAAC Champion of both the 1-meter and 3-meter diving events in Buffalo both years. She owns a top-three score in program history in a 1-meter event, putting up 283.35 points.
Larry VanWagner: Marist's longest tenured head coach, VanWagner owns an impressive resume since the Red Foxes joined the MAAC. He led the men's team to eight straight championships (1996-2003) as soon as Marist joined the league. After falling short in 2004, he won four more consecutive titles. The women's team has found more success recently, last winning a MAAC Championship in 2016. VanWagner is the winningest coach in MAAC history, combining for a stellar 30 titles. He also has amassed over 400 career wins. In 2014, he coached the women's team to another MAAC title, marking an impressive milestone in school history, the 100tg MAAC title for Marist College.
David Dobbins: Dobbins won the MAAC Most Outstanding Male Swimmer a stellar three times throughout his career, the only Red Fox to ever do so. And it was for good reason. Dobbins is arguably the best swimmer to have ever come through the program, winning a total of 12 MAAC Championships throughout his career as a Red Fox. Although he doesn't own any program records, he held multiple at the time he finished his career. He currently sits top-five in the 100-yard free, 200-yard free, and 500-yard free.
Christopher Blackwell: Blackwell had an outstanding career for the Red Foxes, while finishing the final three seasons of his career right when Marist joined the MAAC. During those three seasons, Blackwell won Most Outstanding Male Diver twice, and helped lead the team to three MAAC Championships. He also currently holds a top-five program score in the 1-meter diving event, scoring 311.85. Blackwell won five individual MAAC Championships in his career.
Keith Nichols: Nichols won MAAC Most Outstanding Male Swimmer in 2001, helping lead the Red Foxes to another MAAC title. Prior to this season, Nichols held the longest standing program record, clocking in at 1:48.87 in the 200-yard back all the way in 2001. Ryan Kaplan beat this record at the 2020 MAAC Championships. Nichols owns seven individual MAAC championships, and helped lead Marist to four MAAC titles.
Matthew Castillo: Castillo is the proud owner of seven individual MAAC Championships, and played a key role in three of the team's postseason runs. All the way back in 2003, Castillo set a program record time of 1:51.18 in the 200-yard IM, which stood for over 10 years. The time still ranks second on the program's all-time list.
Danny Knoll: Knoll is one of the best freestyle swimmers the program has ever seen. Coming from the new generation of Red Foxes, Knoll's name is atop many of the program's individual record books. He owns program record times in the 50-yard free and 100-yard free with times of 20.19 and 44.44, respectively. He also ranks second in the 200-yard free with a time of 1:38.00.
Since joining the MAAC, both Red Fox squads have seen a ton of individual success as well. A Marist female diver has won the Most Outstanding Female Diver Award a whopping 16 times, pacing the league since the Red Foxes joined. In addition, eight female swimmers have won Most Outstanding Female Swimmer, and one diver has won Rookie Diver of the Meet.
On the men's side, a swimmer has won Most Outstanding Male Swimmer five times, while divers have won Most Outstanding Male Diver four times. And just this past season,
Tyler Wenzel won the team's first Men's Rookie Diver of the Meet award.
On the coaching side, VanWagner has won Swimming Coach of the Year eight times, while
Melanie Bolstad has won Diving coach of the Year six times.
For a list of all the Red Foxes' individual MAAC Championships and awards since 1996, click
HERE.
50 Free:
Daniel Knoll, 20.19
100 Free:
Daniel Knoll, 44.44
200 Free: Ryan Murphy, 1:37.49
500 Free: Ryan Murphy, 4:25.80
1000 Free: Ryan Murphy, 9:07.38 (Also currently a MAAC record)
1650 Free: Evan Nilsson, 15:29.81
100 Back: Dylan Cummings, 49.84
200 Back:
Ryan Kaplan, 1:48.79
100 Breast: Alan Roberts, 54.92
200 Breast:
Jackson Klarsfeld, 2:02.59
100 Fly:
Pavel Makarchuk, 49.27
200 Fly:
Murray Coueslant, 1:49.08
200 IM: Jason Ruddy, 1:50.65
400 IM:
Adam Kapusta, 3:57.10
1M Diving (6 Dives):
Brian Bolstad, 338.92
3M Diving (6 Dives):
Brian Bolstad, 374.70
50 Free: Meredith Wurtz, 23.48
100 Free: Meredith Wurtz, 51.20
200 Free: Kate Conard, 1:50.12
500 Free: Kate Conard, 4:50.97
1000 Free: Kate Conard, 9:57.08 (Also currently a MAAC record)
1650 Free: Kate Conard, 16:40.23 (Also currently a MAAC record)
100 Back:
Juliet Nowak, 55.64
200 Back: Kate Conard, 2:00.65
100 Breast: Greta Leberfinger, 1:02.17
200 Breast: Lauren Malski, 2:17.29 (Also currently a MAAC record)
100 Fly: Sandra Bujalski, 56.04
200 Fly: Sandra Bujalski, 2:04.49
200 IM: Jamie Falco, 2:04.24
400 IM: Daniela Gomez, 4:23.33
1M Diving (6 Dives):
Esabelle Gervasio, 323.10
3M Diving (6 Dives): Megan Berardelli, 311.63
